Talking Loud & Clear: OMD in Concert

First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER RHOLNNA!

On Sunday, I took my sister to see OMD in concert as a birthday present. We went with my best friend Janice, then met up with a few other friends at the actual show. OMD is for my sister the way Depeche Mode is for me.  I made a statement that we would not only see OMD in concert, but we would have to meet the band somehow because I had already met Alan Wilder. The last time I actually saw OMD in concert was with my sister back in the late 80’s. The next time I saw any advertisement of a show was in London in 2008, and my husband and I were not staying long enough to see the concert. When I saw the ad for OMD in San Diego on Facebook, I knew I was on a mission for my sister’s birthday.

I decided to wear my Joy Division shirt to the show because I know that OMD and Joy Division had toured together in the very early 80’s. In fact, the song “Statues” by OMD was written in part for Ian Curtis after his death. Later when we arrived for the show, I was intrigued and pleasantly surprised to see that I was not the only one wearing a Joy Division shirt (I saw 3 other people wearing them). I had also been stopped several times by people telling me how much they liked my shirt. To me, that signified that this crowd were truly OMD fans who understood and appreciated their history.

Outfits:  Previously remixed – Joy Division t-shirt; Jeffrey Campbell shoes/Not worn yet – H&M blazer; Guess skinny jeans; Betsey Johnson cross-body bag

On Rholnna – Mossimo jacket; Oh La La tank; Paris Blues jeans; Wild Diva boots

On Janice – Soho t-shirt (souvenir from NYC from yours truly); NY & Co jeans; Cathy Jean boots; Harajuku purse

The evening actually began with dinner at the Sushi Deli in Downtown San Diego, which was walking distance from the concert venue. My sister and I had never been there before, but Janice had previously been to a different location. The food and drinks were great, and the bartenders were fun. It was nice to just sit and enjoy a good meal before going to a highly anticipated show. Once we arrived back to the venue, 4th & B, we had discovered that the line had wrapped around the building! We were glad to see that there was still interest in OMD, because it would mean a lively crowd.

The opening act was a local band called Inspired Flight. I really wanted to give this band a chance, as they did hail from San Diego. They really had an eclectic sound, going from danceable synth-pop to slower driving hip-hop. But the hot room and crowded floor made us all the more anxious for the main act to hit the stage.

Steve West, one of my favorite deejays from 91X (a local alternative radio station), came onstage to introduce the band and mentioned that this show had sold out. Once OMD arrived onstage, they did so with purpose:  we were about to be fully entertained. They started off the night with “New Babies, New Toys” off of their new album called “History of Modern”. Although I’m not too familiar with the whole album yet, I recognized “History of Modern (Part 1)”, “If You Want To”, “New Holy Ground” and “Sister Marie Says”. The rest of the evening was a must see for any OMD fan, as they went far back into their early history with tracks from albums such as  “Architecture & Morality”, “Junk Culture” and “The Pacific Age” all the way to “Sugar Tax”.

The highlights were songs I had been waiting a couple of decades to hear again live. Songs like “Tesla Girls”, “Locomotion”, “So in Love”, “(Forever) Live & Die” and “Enola Gay” made me jump up and sing every word. A surprise for me was “Talking Loud & Clear” as I had not seen this on set lists when scouring the forums for any and all information of what they might play.  This post was coincidentally titled prior to knowing they would play the song in concert. My sister, already full of emotion, nearly cried when “Souvenir” and “Dreaming” were played.

One of the biggest hits played was “If You Leave” from the “Pretty In Pink” soundtrack, to which they prefaced by saying that this was a song highly criticized for being their “sell out” song.   Despite this admission, they kept true to the long-time fans and played songs like “Messages”, “Joan of Arc” and another surprise which was “Radio Waves” from the album “Dazzle Ships”.  They closed the show with their first single “Electricity”, which perfectly described Andy McCluskey’s dancing. He reminded the crowd that he is now past 50, so we would have to just accept his dancing, although it was humorously stated quite differently in concert. An obvious omission I noted was “Secret”, a big hit from the album “Crush”. I will have to investigate why this was not played among all of the excellent selections for the evening.

A treat for all of us was that we were able to meet Paul Humphreys and Andy after the concert, as they came outside and signed autographs and posed for pictures with around at least 30 die-hard fans. Luckily our car was parked directly outside the backstage doors, so we were able to see the crowd develop and stuck around just in case. Paul and Andy were gracious and funny. They wished my sister a happy birthday, and Andy gave me a big hug saying “Look at you in your Joy Division shirt!”

If you are at all an 80’s music fan, OMD is a must see in concert. They seemed genuinely surprised and happy at the reaction of the crowd, and their energy and interaction with each other made for an unforgettable night. Andy stated that they would return to San Diego, which would mean that we will definitely go back for another round of the electrically charged OMD.

(Photos and concert footage taken at 4th&B on 3.27.2011)